COLLEGE STATION — Kevin Sumlin's offenses have well-earned reputations as aerial circuses. He inherited top-flight offensive talent, too, in his first season at Texas A&M, the equivalent of acrobats under the big top of the Southeastern Conference.

Meanwhile his A&M defenders, who labored last season in the Big 12, have become the program's jugglers — trying to keep a grasp on things while learning a new scheme.

“He's my third defensive coordinator here,” A&M senior linebacker Jonathan Stewart said of Mark Snyder, who spent the past two seasons at South Florida. “You get different things from each one and how they think. You know they all know the game, because they wouldn't be coaching at a big-time level if they didn't.”

Snyder has implemented a 4-3 defense after the Aggies ran a 3-4 the past two seasons under Tim DeRuyter. In the ultimate feast-or-famine approach, A&M led the nation in sacks last season with 51 but ranked 109th in pass defense.

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The Aggies lost three senior starters in the secondary in safety Trent Hunter and cornerbacks Terrence Frederick and Coryell Judie, along with senior defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie. Couple that with the move to the SEC, winner of the last six national titles, and it's clear why there are doubters about A&M's defensive ability this season.

Linebacker Sean Porter, a former Clemens standout, takes exception, and said young defensive backs such as Deshazor Everett and Floyd Raven are ready.

“We're not going to struggle in our first year,” Porter vowed Friday, the opening day of camp. “From what I can see, we have a pretty solid defense that's ready for the SEC.”

The question within the question rests along the defensive line. Previous coach Mike Sherman failed to recruit a stable of quality defensive linemen, especially in the 3-4 alignment that requires one less.

On Friday, the line took another hit when Sumlin announced that incoming freshman Ed Ray did not qualify academically and intends to enroll in junior college.

Also, freshman defensive lineman Alonzo Williams is on campus but waiting from the NCAA on his eligibility. Last spring, Snyder shifted Damontre Moore from linebacker to defensive end to help shore up A&M's thin line — one that got thinner Friday.

“Damontre was kind of a defensive end all along that we had kind of forced to outside linebacker,” Porter said. “This is good for him. He can just drop down and rush.”

Moore joins fellow end Spencer Nealy and tackles Kirby Ennis and Jonathan Mathis in anchoring the defensive line. The Aggies are strongest at linebacker, where Porter, Stewart and Steven Jenkins form one of the team's most experienced units. As for the rest of the defense? A&M simply hopes it doesn't morph into a big-top sideshow.

“Any time you play defense at A&M, you have a standard,” Sumlin said of the Aggies' famed “Wrecking Crew” defenses of the 1980s and '90s. “Everybody since then has tried to meet that standard. Now, moving into a league where defense is king and there's great defensive coaches and players, all you need to do is turn on the tape, and it should motivate you.”

Briefly: Sumlin said sophomore running back Will Randolph has left the program as a “mutual decision.” ... The Aggies are waiting on whether sophomore running back Brandon Williams will earn a waiver from the NCAA to play this season after transferring from Oklahoma.